It what must be deemed sensational news, yesterday German president Joachim Gauck warned that widespread US surveillance of European communications poses a danger to democracy.
President Gauck is from East Germany. He was involved in the demonstrations leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and from 1990 until 2000 he was in charge of the former Stasi files.
Yesterday he said: "To be honest, I have considered whether I can still telephone or mail openly.
"I do it, but I never would have thought that the fear could arise again in Germany, that private communication is no longer possible."
He also said that Edward Smowden's decision to go public deserves respect.
"Whoever makes this information public for reasons of conscience deserves respect."
These are truly incredible words coming from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Germans are sensitive of state surveillance, Mr Gauck said, becasue of their experience of secret police in nazi germany and then in East Germany.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Featured Post
Gubu perfect acronym for the presidency of Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has sacked the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer. The reason for her sacking, the presid...
-
The story below is from The Irish Times of yesterday. The article is written by Arthur Beesley. On face value this is a shocking story and i...
-
This is written by Episcopalian priest Andrew Thayer, rector at Trinity Church, New Orleans. I t was published in The New York Times. On Su...
-
Dominican priest Leo Donovan died in Kiltipper Woods Care Centre, Tallaght on Saturday morning, February 17. Leo had been over two years in ...
No comments:
Post a Comment